CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION TO DATA COMMUNICATION

Data communications refers to the exchange of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable.

For data communications to occur, the communicating devices must be part of a

communication system made up of a combination of hardware (physical equipment) and
software (programs).

The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four fundamental

characteristics: delivery, accuracy, timeliness, and jitter.

1. Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be received by the
intended device or user and only by that device or user.

2. Accuracy: The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in
transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.

3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are useless. In
the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are produced, in the
same order that they are produced, and without significant delay. This kind of delivery is called
real-time transmission.

4. Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in the
delivery of audio or video packets. For example, let us assume that video packets are sent every
30ms. If some of the packets arrive with 30ms delay and others with 40ms delay, an uneven
quality in the video is the result.

Components of a data communications system

A data communications system has five components:

Message: The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular forms of

information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.

Sender: The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.

Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
 Transmission medium: The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message
travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire,
coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves.

Protocol: A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an

agreement between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be
connected but not communicating, just as a person speaking French cannot be understood by a
person who speaks only Japanese.

Data Flow

Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex.

Simplex

In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only one of the
two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive.

Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only
introduce input; the monitor can only accept output.
The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one direction.

Half-Duplex

In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time.
When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa.

The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions. When cars
are traveling in one direction, cars going the other way must wait.
 In a half-duplex transmission, the entire capacity of a channel is taken over by whichever of the
two devices is transmitting at the time.

Full Duplex
In full-duplex mode, both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.

The full-duplex mode is like a two way street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same
time.

One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network. When two
people are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time.

Network
A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes) connected by communication links. A node can
be a computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending and/or receiving data generated by other
nodes on the network.
Distributed Processing

Most networks use distributed processing, in which a task is divided among multiple computers. Instead
of one single large machine being responsible for all aspects of a process, separate computer (usually a
personal computer or workstation) handle a subset.
Network Criteria

A network must be able to meet a certain number of criteria. The most important of these are
performance, reliability, and security.
Performance

Performance can be measured in many ways, including transmit time and response time.
Transmit time is the amount of time required for a message to travel from one device to
another. Response time is the elapsed time between an inquiry and a response.

The performance of a network depends on a number of factors, including the number of users,
the type of transmission medium, the capabilities of the connected hardware, and the efficiency
of the software.

Performance is often evaluated by two networking metrics: throughput and delay. We

often need more throughputs and less delay.

Reliability

In addition to accuracy of delivery, network reliability is measured by the frequency of failure, the time it
takes a link to recover from a failure.

Security

Network security issues include protecting data from unauthorized access, protecting data from damage
and development, and implementing policies and procedures for recovery from breaches and data
losses.

Type of Connection
A network is two or more devices connected through links. A link is a communications pathway that
transfers data from one device to another. For visualization purposes, it is simplest to imagine any link
as a line drawn between two points.

Point-to-Point: A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between two devices. The entire
capacity of the link is reserved for transmission between those two devices.
Multipoint: A multipoint (also called multi drop) connection is one in which more than two specific
devices share a single link. In a multipoint environment, the capacity of the channel is shared, either
spatially or temporally.
Categories of networks
Today when we speak of networks, we are generally referring to two primary categories:
Local area networks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN).
The category into which a network falls is determined by its size.
A LAN normally covers an area less than 2 mi; a WAN can be worldwide. Networks of a size in
between are normally referred to as metropolitan area networks and span tens of miles.

A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and links the devices in a single office, building, or
campus. LANs are designed to allow resources to be shared between personal computers or
workstations. The resources to be shared can include hardware (e.g., a printer), software (e.g., an
application program), or data. A common example of a LAN, found in many business environments, links
a workgroup of task-related computers, for example, engineering workstations or accounting PCs.

A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance transmission of data, image, audio, and video
information over large geographic areas that may comprise a country, a continent, or even the whole
world.
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network with a size between a LAN and a WAN. It normally
covers the area inside a town or a city. It is designed for customers who need a high-speed connectivity,
normally to the Internet, and have endpoints spread over a city or part of city. A good example of a MAN
is the part of the telephone company network that can provide a high-speed DSL line to the customer.